1. Field
The subject matter described herein relates to ways the privacy settings of an application (e.g. online, mobile device, apparatus, etc.) can be adjusted interactively while a user continues to use the application, and more specifically, to a privacy settings layer that is overlaid on the application, the privacy settings layer being adjustable in real time.
2. Background Information
To date, applications may have privacy settings that require a user to navigate through several interfaces of the application to reach an interface that provides the user with the ability to view and/or modify the privacy settings. Users may thus be discouraged from modifying the privacy settings of related art applications due to the difficulty and inconvenience of navigating through the several interfaces of the application to reach the privacy settings. As a result, the user may not maintain the privacy settings for the application.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example interface for an application. For example, a user query directed to the term “soccer” has been performed, and results of the user query have been provided. In the example depicted in FIG. 1, the privacy settings of the application are not immediately present on the interface directed to the user query (e.g., search). The user may thus need to navigate through several additional interfaces (e.g., online website screens) within the application 100 before the user can reach the interface that includes the privacy settings.
Related art applications have attempted to address the above problem by displaying privacy settings for instances (e.g., instantiations) within the application. For example, a social media service application may allow the user to adjust the privacy settings of each individual status post that the user submits to the application. Such related art applications may utilize a window (e.g., pop-up window) above the status post to permit the user to access the privacy settings of the status post. However, the user cannot adjust the privacy settings of the application, but only the particular instance (e.g. status post). Thus, the privacy setting of the application thereby remains unaffected, and the user still needs to navigate through the multiple interfaces to reach the interface that includes privacy settings for the application. Further, the privacy setting of the particular instance does not propagate to other instances of the application, thereby requiring the user to separately and individually adjust each instance of the application.